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Crappy Administration War hots up!

Monday, August 20, 2007 10:33:16 AM

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Just when France looked to be doing so strongly (see a number of previous posts) the Netherlands fights back with this beautiful play by the Dutch government:



Loosely translated: "you didn't need to pay any tax in 2004, but since you didn't send in a tax form stating this we're fining you 22 euro"! So I pay a fine of 22 euro for not paying my tax bill of 0 euro!!!!!!!!!!!

In fact, I could have claimed tax BACK in 2004, but didn't bother since it was only a few tens of euros - so this is a particularly shitty piece of administrative garbage. I will be phoning them this afternoon.


But what's this? Wow! The Gallic champions France Telecom are suddenly back with yet another master-stroke... they've been charging me monthly rent for the internet TV equipment that I never used and took back less than a day after picking it up! Genius!

Sorry Netherlands, a brave move but this late play by France seems to confirm that there's no stopping them winning the Crap Administration Trophy now...

WE HAVE INTERNET!First New Coke... now New Mars!

Comments

P*nutP*Nut Monday, August 20, 2007 10:40:51 AM

lol

Lack of care is to blame for so much pointless beaurocracy. They forgot to tick the box on the computer.

Good luck on the phone! Hope you're not on hold forever and / or get given a number of alternative and incorrect phone numbers through which to continue your quest for the correct answer!

solidcopper Monday, August 20, 2007 10:58:15 AM

jester Good luck on the phone indeed!

MossMan Monday, August 20, 2007 11:00:41 AM

@ P*Nut: Oh I'm sure I will. I'm not sure I'll win this one either, since it may turn out that I "should have" submitted a form regardless of the fact that I didn't need to pay tax, simply because I was working... even if it *was* only part-time for five months before I left the country, and even though I could have claimed back for being a student.

"It says in section 14 of chapter 12 of the statute of blah blah blah that you should have submitted a form but you didn't, so this entails blah blah blah." etc.

MossMan Monday, August 20, 2007 11:03:25 AM

Regarding the phone - I will have to write a complaint letter, since it's the only way I can communicate all the crap they've put us through and demonstrate clearly in black and white that they should refund all the payments for internet in July as well as confirm that I will only be paying the 1Mbit line AND NOTHING ELSE for August onwards.

MossMan Monday, August 20, 2007 11:09:21 AM

And in other news... I've just discovered that my "internet banking" only allows me to transfer money to people I have already sent money to using an order at the agency.

So I still have to leave work early today to go to the agency to make a payment... even though I thought I could just do it online like in any civilised country. (And like I've already done for rent etc. for the last three years.)

GO FRANCE! GO FRANCE! WOOOOHHH!!!

MossMan Monday, August 20, 2007 11:18:13 AM

Lack of care is to blame for so much pointless beaurocracy. They forgot to tick the box on the computer.



In fact it's not lack of care, it's total laziness, negligence and incompetance - since we clearly indicated to Joseine at FT Agence Toulouse Esquirol when we signed up for the new services that France Telecom has pissed around with me like this in the past, so it'd better not happen again... and then made it VERY CLEAR INDEED that she should make sure everything was properly set straight after we had to take it all back again the next day.

Not only did she screw it all up in the first place, she obviously did absolutely NOTHING to fix it again afterwards!!!

Dicque Magnetics Monday, August 20, 2007 1:00:03 PM

"And in other news... I've just discovered that my "internet banking" only allows me to transfer money to people I have already sent money to using an order at the agency."

Blame that on the unions, and thus making sure that France will not able to compete in the global economy, reducing its self to fairytale in the future.

MossMan Monday, August 20, 2007 1:17:42 PM

It's ridiculous, isn't it. I thought the same thing... how can we claim "internet banking", but still keep 100% staffing at the agencies? By making sure customers have to go to the agency for anything "unusual"... brilliant!

It also explains why I couldn't transfer any money internationally without going to the agency... In both cases, the girl at the counter just types in the exact same numbers I could have done at home - there is *no reason* for this to be done there instead of online!

Dicque Magnetics Monday, August 20, 2007 1:27:09 PM

In France, historically, there has never been much competition, look at companies like FT, EDF and Total. French cars were crappy and for a long time it was very hard to buy foreign cars and thus the French cars remained crappy, only since now all the French want Japanese cars, resulting in better French cars (which are still crappy, my old boss had a 307SW and all the problems he had!)
Same thing with Telecom, French Railroads etc. etc. France is an island in Europe and French people will someday have to realize that with a 35 hr workweek and a solid pension, and job protection, they will not survive the global economy.
I saw a pole which showed that the majority of the young students that come of the university favor a government job! How ridicule is that!

MossMan Monday, August 20, 2007 2:02:37 PM

Says Mr. Dicque I-have-a-government-job Magnetics! lol Ha ha ha!

Dicque Magnetics Monday, August 20, 2007 2:08:30 PM

Ho ho ho, I do not have a government job, my company is an independent society, taking care of things the government does not have the knowledge to do! (Although they claim to have)
We are paid by the government, but that's also the case of your company (oogghhh, that was one under the table!) wink

MossMan Monday, August 20, 2007 2:10:43 PM

OH YEAH! Thanks for reminding me... France scores yet another goal:

Just before my holiday, I "closed" my account with Gaz de France since I had just moved to a house where there is no gas.

Guess what dropped through the letterbox over the weekend?

... a bill for estimated use in August (which also showed zero use in July). So I call the 24/7 hotline - who tells me I didn't respond to their phone call... and this was a couple of weeks after I got an email already stating I'd written out.

And the "24/7 hotline" told me someone would call back about it three days later. Yay.

I bet they don't...

MossMan Monday, August 20, 2007 2:11:39 PM

Okay okay (although I'm not sure how Cap Gemini is paid by the government...).

MossMan Monday, August 20, 2007 2:16:48 PM

Right - time for me to go now... got to catch a bank before it closes at 17:30.

Dicque Magnetics Tuesday, August 21, 2007 8:32:38 AM

>Okay okay (although I'm not sure how Cap Gemini is paid by the government...).

OK, Cap Gemini rents engineers to Airbus, who are in majority are involved in the development of the A380 and A350. This development is then paid by Brussels, French German Spain and Italy government either directly as a subsidy, or as a development loan. The loan is to be paid back, but since it will take more than 400 A380's to run this program break even, consider these loans also as a subsidy. And of course the loans are to be paid back by selling aircraft to airliners, with a large amount of airliners directly or indirectly sponsered by their government (Like Eithiad, Gulf, Aeroflot,...)
So there you go!

MossMan Tuesday, August 21, 2007 10:24:03 AM

Say... you sound like you work for Boeing...! wink

Dicque Magnetics Tuesday, August 21, 2007 10:28:27 AM

Okay, with Boeing it is even worse, since Airbus is really trying to repay the loans, Boeing completely develops a program on Japanese and Italian (which is partly also European EU money) subsidies....

All I wanted to say in this business, government involvement is unavoidable.....

MossMan Tuesday, August 21, 2007 10:49:07 AM

Of course. Now if only American aviation enthusiasts would take that point of view... sherlock

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